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Just bought my GL2 - now I need advice
So I wanted to get this camera ever since it was the GL1. I'd save my money and whenever I had enough I just couldn’t bring myself to shell out the cash. I started my new job and I'm making more money so I figured what the hell and bought one from H&B. I checked for some on ebay most of the new ones on there come with pretty low quality kits so I decided against it.
What I did end up getting from B&H was GL2 Canon 0.7x wide angle lense Raynox 0.3x mx-3000pro semi-fisheye Canon backpack 3 piece filter set LCD hood I think that’s it ;) So the camera isn’t here yet but before I start testing it out I have a few questions. Batteries I realize that there are a few posts on here that go over this but what I'd like to know is if the Impact BP-945 is any good and if anyone has any good things to say about the super cheap batteries on ebay like these. MiniDV tapes I would go canon but they are pricey and would rather buy something that comes from a local store and is readily available. A friend of mine said not to use the FujiFilm ones and stick to one brand (something to do with the magnetism). So what should I get? JVC, Panasonic, Sony... and should I buy the "PRO" class of the tapes? Cases I got the canon backpack (kinda whish I hadn’t as I seen better quality ones) but I might want to get a hard case. Will my GL2 and accessories fit in the pelican 1520? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...u=70628&is=REG Fisheye Like I said I got the raynox fisheye, I didn’t want to spend the $800 on the death lense. But I was kinda disappointed with my options. seems like you could go from $40-$150 and there’s nothing between that and the death lense. Is the mx-3000pro a decent lense? Is this a decent setup? I want to use this setup mostly for getting some snowboarding footage, can anyone recommend anything else. What kind of settings should I set my gl2 for when shooting action shots on snow? What settings should I use if I want some quality slow motion shots? Should I use my Polarized filter when shooting on snow? I think that’s it. If anyone can offer any advice to me it would be much appreciated. I can’t even sleep at night; I’m so excited about getting this cam! Thanks, I'm sure I'll be posting here more in the future seems like a good community. -Matthew |
It's all the same which dv tapes you choose, but stick with that one model and brand.
About the batteries: some people complain about them, and I wouldn't go for the super real cheap batteries like 10 dollars, but if you find batteries that are like maybe 25 or more dollars, you could check them out. I know officially they aren't that good, and some of them suck, but they are much cheaper, and I bought 2 from ebay from my xl1s and they still work like a charm, so... I don't know anything about the fisheye lenses. Why didn't you bought a tripod? Or do you already have one? |
Conventional wisdom is to pick a tape that is readily available for you to find and stick with it. I use Panasonic myself, but any just about any national brand name should be OK. And keep in maind that all makers release a bad batch every now and then. Also MiniDV tape tollerates less auser abuse thatn , say, VHS. Canon tape is a repackaged name brand - at one time it was Panasonic. Also, buy a dry head cleaning tape, use it per the owners manual intstruction and if you change tape brands afte a steady diet on one brand.. The premium tapes from Panasonic, Sony, etc. are said to have somewhat fewer dropouts and more uniformity thanks mainly to tighter quality control, but most folks do not find it worth spending the extra money.
Cant speak to the Impact brand battery, I use Lenmar brand, but most people have reported success using third party batteries that are designed for the Canon. With lenses you tend to get what you pay for, cheap lenses tend to give corresponding perforamnce from a purely optical standpoint, but it may provide an effect you are seeking. What I've read is that most people are quite satisfied with the Canon 0.7x, but the results are much more mixed with Raynox. Let ut know what you think after using them. Enjoy. |
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I got a pretty old tripod that will hold me over till I decide on a new one. Vidpro makes a TT-800 that has the lanc terminal so you can zoom and all that other good stuff with the handle. Looks tempting but I dont know about the quality of the tripod itself. I guess I dont want to spend more than $100-150 USD on a tripod. Can anyone recommend one? |
Great Don,
Thanks for the input, I'll let you guys know how those lenses work out. |
I've used Panasonic Pro DVM63 tapes for the past six years with a GL1 and now a GL2. Out of over 300 tapes I have had two duds.
I use each tape once only and rarely have to use a head cleaner. I once played a friend's JVC tape, and had to use the head cleaner before I colud record again. Avoid leaving tapes in the camera, and store them upright - two factors in the (in)famous Canon Rewind error message. |
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There does not seem to be much correlation between use and the error. I have seen humidity suggested as a cause. I must admit I rarely use the VCR functions as I have a Sony DV Walkman for capture and export. I did find towards the end with my GL1 that the rewind had become a little slow, but it soon quickened up with some use.
I have seen the suggestion that you fast forward and fast rewind a tape before using it, though I have never done that. At one time the wisdom was to pre-stripe the tape with continuous timecode, but that is now frowned upon. To make capture straightforward, you do need to avoid gaps in the timecode. I always use the Tape Photo function to record a few seconds of black at the end of each session, then use the record search function to go back a couple of seconds. |
with the cassette error message i would say that it is humidity to blame. also with batterys i find them fine. i use 5 replacement batterys of the canon equvilent of the BP-945. the only problem i find with them is that the life span of them is only about a year. but on the BP-945 it is about two years
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I've had good luck with Maxell miniDV tapes. I chose them because the tapes and its companion cleaning cassette are available in most drug and discount stores in my area.
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As far as tapes go, I am often disappointed with what is locally available. Specially for the price. Find a tape supplier online, and order them 10 at a time... if you shoot often enough. You can often get the Panny Pro tapes for less than the common retail tapes.
In addition to what you already have on order, you might want to look into a decent shotgun mic. I have an ATR 55, I paid less than $100 for it, maybe $65? It makes a big difference. The stock Canon mic picks up great audio... just rarely does it pick up anything in front of the cam. The one wedding I did, I was using the stock mic while the B&G were doing their vows. It picked up the sound of cameras snapping shots 15 feet behind me, and not the vows 10 feet in front of me. They are also guaranteed to pick up your every whisper, so be careful what you say while the cam is recording. |
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The mic should plug in just to the right of the shoe. As far as the wind, I've never been snowboarding, but I have also never had wind problems either.
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On tapes, I recommend Sony Excellence tapes. I've used these for a couple of years on my Sony VX2100 and haven't had any problems with this. I just got a XL1s which I also use the Excellence tapes on... works great. They're around $7/tape which isn't bad. For cleaning, I just keep 1 or 2 of the Sony cleaning tapes around, they're about $12. You can use then about 10 times or so before trashing them
Tapes: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search Cleaner: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search If you buy the tapes from B&H in sets of 5, they come in nice little cardboard boxes holding 5 tapes. Easy to pack |
I prefer more this tapes
:http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation With the cleaner i prefer also the original canon cleaner Heard somthing that the head of sony cams are different distance than the canon cams. So maby this sony cleaner is adjust to this sony cams and not to the canon cams. Maby it is nonsense what I telling now but I will the best for my camera and would not take any risk |
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